


Dangan Emblem: Side Hope

by SHSLCostumeDesigner



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Fire Emblem AU, Pretty much every character in the series pops up at some point, Some references to NDRV3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 03:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10689138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHSLCostumeDesigner/pseuds/SHSLCostumeDesigner
Summary: Noble siblings Makoto and Komaru have been called from their home in Dusk Village to attend a meeting of all the nobles in the land of Takazu. Expecting it to be just another party, they do not anticipate the adventures, discoveries, and alliances they find along the way, or the secrets they will uncover about Takazu's mysterious past and the Hope Emblem.





	1. Chapter 1: Dawn to Dusk

**DANGAN EMBLEM: SIDE HOPE**

**_Takazu: a prosperous, sprawling nation in the south of the continent Yokica. It is said that the entire continent was sculpted by the King God Kamukura himself, and that he granted it many privileges over the rest of the world: bountiful harvests, beautiful landscapes, lakes and rivers to fish in, and an abundance of wild animals. In order to protect his wonderful creation from jealous outsiders, he gave Yokica one last gift before leaving to slumber in the heavens for a thousand centuries: the Emblem of Hope, a mysterious artefact stored in a cave in the highest mountain in all Yokica, Hope’s Peak. The Emblem of Hope is as shrouded in mystery as the top of Hope’s Peak is shrouded by clouds. Many have ventured out to find it, but none have succeeded. No-one has laid eyes upon it since the days of old. For hundreds of years, Takazu has been relatively free from any major catastrophes. But today, the lords of Takazu have suddenly been called to the capital city of Kaiseidan for a mysterious meeting. Among the lords travelling to Kaiseidan is Makoto Naegi, a lesser noble from Dusk Village…_ **

 

It is early in the morning and still dark outside, and yet the stables are alive with activity. A few trusted servants who wouldn’t dream of being up at this hour on a normal day have been gathered to prepare a carriage for their lieges. Their voices are hushed, their feet light. Frantically, they organise the horses, brushing them and tacking them up with as much haste as possible. A maid stumbles through the barn door, swinging two heavy-looking suitcases.  
“Lady Komaru,” she offers as a gasped explanation when she catches sight of an older groom looking reproachfully at her. “She insisted on packing an evening gown. Or, well, three…”  
The groom shakes his head. “Hand them here. I can’t say I’ll ever understand that girl and her penchant for extravagance.”  
“She thinks she and Lord Makoto are being invited to a party and doesn’t want to be caught unprepared.” She hands the groom the suitcases, looking relieved to be rid of the burden. He carries them easily and she follows him over to the carriage.  
“She might as well think that,” he grumbles. “Nobody knows anything about this ‘meeting’ the nobles are having. It may well be a party, it may well be a war council.” Grunting, he hoists the suitcases in and steps back, scratching his chin. “Though why anybody would invite _our_ lieges, of all people, to a _war council_ is beyond me…”  
“I hear all the nobles in Takazu are going. Is that true? If so, then I hope Lady Komaru doesn’t run into that Togami family rascal from last year’s Spring Ball.”  
“The sharp-tongued heir? I hear Master Makoto has had his fair share of run-ins with him.” He shuts the carriage door, and begins to walk away. “It’s starting to get brighter. If we finish our preparations and find Master Makoto and Miss Komaru quickly enough, then we should make good time. Kirumi, are you still willing to drive the carriage? It’s an awful long way to Kaiseidan. Two weeks of driving.”  
She nods, side-stepping to make room for the horses. “Lady Komaru asked me to.” In a meeker tone, she adds, “I suppose she doesn’t want to be seen without her servant at the meeting.”  
“Don’t sell yourself short,” the groom admonishes. “The lady values your friendship as much as she does your service. She obviously trusts you enough to have requested you specifically for this task.”  
  Kirumi fiddles with her glove, turning her head to the side. “I…suppose that is true. Thank you for the reassurance.” She looks at him again. “I must fetch the Lady, and Lord Makoto. I’ll be back in five minutes.”  
Indeed, five minutes later, Kirumi returns with two bleary-eyed nobles in tow.  
“Why so early?” Lady Komaru grumbles.  
“We have a long drive to Kaiseidan, and we want to be at the meeting in good time.” Kirumi says.  
“I know, I know, but still…why so early?”  
“You can sleep in the coach, Komaru.” Lord Makoto says, not without a hint of affection. He turns to the groom. “Sorry to trouble you even more, but has my book been packed into a suitcase?”  
The groom reaches into the carriage, and pulls out a book that had been sitting on the padded seats. In the dim light that has just started to stream through the doorway, the title ‘Ethical Battle Tactics When Faced With Violent Scenarios’ can just be made out, in gold leaf lettering.  
“I had imagined that you would want to read it on the coach, so we left it out of the suitcase.” He glances at Kirumi. “The kitchen staff delivered the rations while you were searching for the young masters. Will you be setting off soon?”  
“That we will be.” Kirumi replies. “Lady Komaru, Lord Makoto- do you feel you are both ready to board?”  
“Wait,” says Komaru, suddenly looking alert and panicked. “Who’s feeding my birds?”  
“The gardener’s wife and daughter. Their cage was moved to the greenhouse last night. I can promise you they will be taken care of. Lord Makoto?”  
“My dog is in the care of one of the maids, and I said goodbye to him this morning. I’m ready to leave now.” He pets one of the horses, running a gauntlet-clad hand along its back as he makes his way to the coach door. The groom pulls it open.  
“Thank you for all your help this morning,” Makoto says to him. “And to all the other staff. You’ve all been great.”  
“Thank you, Master Makoto.”  
“Come on, Komaru. Let’s get going.” His sister bustles to the door. She swings a leg up to reach the step, skirts rustling around her. Makoto grabs her wrist and pulls her up, aided by Kirumi pushing from underneath her liege’s fabric-padded posterior. Ungracefully, Komaru staggers into the coach’s passenger area, and flops down onto a seat. At the front, Kirumi settles herself in the driver’s seat, and takes hold of the reins.  
“Ask a Pegasus Knight to take a message if anything happens.” The groom instructs. He steps back and ushers a few other servants to step back with him. “You’re clear to start moving.”  
“Right.” Kirumi flicks the reins and clicks with her tongue. The horses trudge forwards, heading out the stable doors. Komaru pokes her head out of the window and waves.  
“Goodbye! Goodbye! Thanks for the help! See you in two weeks!” Makoto suddenly stops waving and yanks her back, just as the doorframe starts coming up, on the verge of clonking her in the head. As the carriage exits the barn, they both turn around in their seats to look out the back window. The servants walk to the front of the barn, led by the veteran groom, and wave and call well-wishes.  
   The stable grows smaller and smaller. As it becomes a tiny dot, the siblings turn around. Seeing it has become light enough to read, Makoto digs around for his book, and flips it open on a bookmark a quarter of the way in. Komaru huffs and leans against the side of the carriage, settling her face into a plush curtain as a makeshift pillow. Makoto glimpses a black charm on a white cord falling out of her collar.  
“Is that Mother’s necklace?” he asks.  
“Oh- well, yes. I...I’ve taken to wearing it whenever I travel. It makes me feel like she’s...still with me. Did you bring Father’s sword with us?” She inclines her head at a sheathed blade sitting on the seat opposite.  
“Yes, for the same sort of reason. I don’t especially enjoy fighting, but to protect the people around me…” he sighs. “He was always insistent that I learned to fight, just in case I need to defend myself or protect somebody one day. But...I refuse to kill anyone.”  
Komaru smiles weakly. “ _Ethical Battle Tactics_ , right?” They sit in a pensive silence for a few moments.  
“I’m going to sleep.” she announces.  
“I’ll be reading.”  
“You do that.”  
“I will.”  
“Not like you need my permission.”  
“I don’t.”  
  Komaru chuckles lightly, and closes her eyes.

It is early afternoon. Komaru had been drifting in and out of naps, and conversations with her brother, who had tired of reading and contented himself with looking out of the window at the scenery. By this point, villagers and farmers were up and walking about. Upon seeing the noble carriage, they turned their heads to peer at it, and waved to the boy with his face pressed against the window. A young woman leading a pony laden with groceries makes her way past, and smiles brightly at Makoto, who returns the grin.  
“I just saw one of the kitchen maids,” he tells Komaru.  
“One of ours? It’s quite a way from Dusk Village now, isn’t it?”  
“Yes, but there’s a marketplace in the next village. They specialise in growing potatoes and carrots, so our kitchen staff often go there during the week to buy groceries.”  
“She’ll be back by noon,” Kirumi tells them from the front. “She probably rode out yesterday afternoon, arrived in the evening and stayed over, and went to the market this morning. Now she’s walking back.”  
“I couldn’t walk all that way in an afternoon,” Komaru says. “I didn’t realise some of our food came from so far away.”  
“It’s why we ask you to tell us if you want fish for dinner at least three days in advance. It comes all the way from Asunaro Town, where we’re heading now. It takes a lot of planning to get there and back, without the fish going off on the way home.”  
“Wow,” Komaru says pensively. “I knew fish came from Asunaro Town, but I didn’t think it took so long for people to get there. Or that the fish could go off so quickly.”  
“It’s nothing for you and Lord Makoto to worry about. It’s all part of a servant’s job.”  
“Well, thanks for doing that stuff for us.”  
“You’re welcome, Lady Komaru.”  
“I’m going back to sleep.”  
“Yes, Lady Komaru.”

Early evening. Kirumi peers worriedly over the horses’ heads at the horizon. Orange and pink streaks had already taken over the sky, but they were beginning to be drowned out by a swathe of dull blue. It had grown much darker, not helped by the thick clouds and the steady drizzle of rain. An hour ago, Makoto had admitted defeat and put his book down on a chapter about dealing with ambushes, unable to read in the dimming light. He and his sister nap side by side in the back, facing opposite directions but in the same position, cheeks pressed against the window. Kirumi knows that in a few minutes, the carriage will be entering an area known for being bandit territory. She isn’t sure whether she wants to harry the horses and rush through the area, or drive as slowly as she can, in a futile effort to prevent ever entering. She stops to light a lantern, dismounting from her perch and rummaging through an immaculate box. The evening before, the head groom had meticulously organised it to make it easier to find supplies, but his effort goes unappreciated as Kirumi’s hasty fingers grab randomly at supplies, desperate to find a match. In the back, Komaru stirs.  
“Are we stopping? Have we arrived? Gee, it’s this dark already?”  
Kirumi puts on her most reassuring smile, even if Komaru can’t see it. “I’m lighting the lantern so we can see through this next part.” She strikes the match, and holds it to the candlewick. “Everything is-” The lantern flickers with light, illuminating the surroundings properly.

A group of people stands around them.

Kirumi gasps in shock and recoils back, her fingers fumbling over her belt in search of her daggers. They curl around a solid handle, and immediately muscle memory kicks in and launches the dagger at one of them. The figure, shrouded in black robes, dodges nimbly and steps towards the carriage, unphased.  
“Stay back!” the maid cries out. “Lord Makoto- Lady Komaru! Lock the doors!”  
“What’s happening?” Makoto asks, panicked and suddenly alert.  
“State your purpose!” Kirumi commands the shadowy figures, all clad in black robes, and with flat, black and white masks. She is ignored, and the figure in front of her continues to advance, spooking the horses. At the sides, the other members of its group begin to flank the doors of the carriage, two on each side. The siblings double-bolt the doors in a frenzy. Komaru draws the curtains, as though to block the sight of the figures and make them non-existent. Makoto desperately grips the door handle and pulls it into him tightly, hoping to prevent the assailants from yanking the door open. Both their efforts are in vain, however, as the masked assailants opt to simply smash the windows.  
   Komaru shrieks and flinches back against the seat as Makoto dives for his father’s sword, half-unsheathing it as glass explodes over his back. The figures move climb through the windows with surprising grace, their dark robes trailing behind them like solid smoke. Very quickly, the cabin becomes cramped as two assailants make their way in- certainly, too cramped to swing a sword. Makoto looks up from the still-sheathed blade just in time to see an assailant plunging a dagger down- only to be bowled over at the last second, the dagger clattering to the floor. He looks up and sees a trembling but determined-looking Komaru, clutching a thick tome.  
_Does bashing a guy over the head with a book about ethical battle tactics count as ethical battle tactics, or not?_ Makoto barely has time to wonder, before rolling and undoing the locks on the door and wrenching it open.  
“Komaru!” he calls, expecting her to jump outside and escape. Instead, she trips an attacker and gives them a brutal shove out of the carriage. She flashes him a rattled-looking smile. He notices a figure behind her.  
“Look out!” His sister whips around, and screams again when a pied mask looms in the shattered window. She turns to look, and a hand reaches in and claws for a hold, catching around her necklace. In shock, she staggers back, and the necklace cord snaps.  
“Wait- no-!” She gasps, reaching out desperately. Makoto holds her back protectively, ignoring the assailants at his back for a moment. However, none of them attack further. The one who snatched Komaru’s necklace holds it triumphantly in their fist, to show their ally. All of a sudden, the attackers turn and make for the bushes. Makoto checks behind him, and sure enough, the figures behind him are slinking off too.  
“Get back here so I can finish you off!” An enraged voice screeches from the front. Makoto exits the carriage, only to see Kirumi furiously pitching a dagger into a tree. It catches the corner of one of the fleeing assailant’s trailing robes, tearing the fabric off. It's a frightening sight. Gasping slightly, she notices Makoto and turns to face him, standing formally.  
“Forgive me, Lord Makoto...their leader distracted me.”  
“Never mind that,” Makoto says. “Are you hurt at all?” Kirumi’s hand wanders to cover a patch of bare arm, where the shirt has been ripped. Komaru rushes forwards and pries her maid’s hand away.  
“Kirumi!” she gasps. “You’re bleeding!”  
“‘Tis but a scratch, miladay.”  
“A scratch! Your arm’s practically off!”  
“That...is an exaggeration. Please, Lady Komaru, I was just nicked by their dagger.” She smiles proudly. “I gave far worse than I received.”  
“Even so…” Komaru tentatively touches the skin surrounding the gash, causing the other woman to flinch. “You need to stay down for a while.”  
“Lady Komaru, please, this wound is really not so bad…”  
“No excuses!” commands the young noble. She twists around upon hearing a clunk behind her. Makoto is hefting the sword out of the carriage.  
“I’ll go after them,” he tells his sister.  
“Go after them?” Kirumi starts. “Lord Makoto, you mustn’t- on your own-”  
Makoto gestures to his sister. “They stole our mother’s necklace. It’s precious to Komaru, and to me- I must recover it.”  
“It’s not worth it-”  
“It is worth it! It’s one of the few things we have left to remind us of her!” He suddenly shouts. Surprised by his own outburst, he bows his head and continues meekly, “Please, Kirumi- they’re getting further away from us as we speak. I...I have to go!” With that, he turns on his heel and makes for the trampled bushes their attackers escaped into.  
“Lord Makoto- no- you mustn’t-!” Kirumi says, reaching out a moment too late with her injured arm. She winces heavily, and clutches her wound. Komaru goes to her side.  
“Come on, Kirumi- let’s bandage that now…” she brings her to sit on one of the plush seats, and nabs a supply box from the front.  
“But…Lord Makoto...your brother…are you not worried?” Komaru looks up from kneeling beside the maid, and gives her a small smile.  
“Of course I’m worried. I’d much rather have my brother than a necklace. But he saw his mission as one worth the risk to make me happy- so I have to trust him. Makoto is...very kind. I don’t think he would fall in battle and abandon me so easily.”  
Kirumi opens her mouth to say something, but thinks better of it, feeling it would be out of place for a servant to say it. Instead, she sits in silence and lets Komaru tend to her wounds, gently showing her young mistress the proper way to tie a bandage.  
_I never met your parents,_ is what she had been planning on saying. But I have heard about them, and what brave and kind and wonderful people they were.  
“Ouch-” she winces. “No, no, not too tight...like this…”  
I can understand why you place value on the gifts your parents left you, that remind you of what good people they were, but I don’t think you realise- you and your brother are pieces of your parents, too.

Leaves and twigs crunch underfoot as Makoto runs. Their attackers have done an excellent job of making themselves scarce. No clues in sight. In between frantic sprints, stumbling over tree roots and being smacked in the face by branches, he stops to gasp for breath, and survey his shadow-covered surroundings and listen for the group of five running. The sword on his belt feels heavy, and gets in the way of his running. One strap becomes undone, and he can feel the leather strip flapping against the back of his thigh. As the scabbard begins to tilt and wobble precariously, he tries to use one hand to hold it steady, but loses his stride and skids on wet leaves, straight into a patch of fresh mud, where he lands face-first. Groaning, he moves onto his knees and wipes his face, the sharp smell of mud filling his nostrils. He turns his head to the side and begins to fiddle with the loose strap, though his gauntlets, slightly too large and too new a feeling, make it quite the task. While kneeling, a vague shape in the mud catches his eye, despite the dim light. Upon closer inspection, he sees it is a footprint. A recent one. With many more dappled around it- almost as though a group of people had just ran through.  
   He picks himself back up stiffly, rubbing the arm that got trapped beneath him as he fell. He looks back at the messy sets of footprints, hoping to make sense of them. It looks as though the group have split off from each other at this point, probably to reduce the risk of them all being captured. He finds the paths the two split groups have gone down- the first, three sets of footprints leading straight ahead, and the second, two sets that veer off to the right. Which group would have Komaru’s necklace…? Allowing himself to pause and think rationally, he comes to the conclusion that he should follow the group of three. Picking up pace again, he reasons that the assailants probably used two of their number to create a distraction and lead a pursuer in circles, while three of them looked after their bounty with stronger numbers, or split off again to provide another diversion.  
   Well, he hopes that’s the case anyway.  
   A low-hanging branch knocks him in the face and slows him down, disoriented and spitting out leaves. However, he does not stop. In the distance, he can just about make out an open space, a potential end to the woods. He hurdles a bush clumsily, and staggers out from the treeline, chest heaving from the effort. _At least I won’t have to worry about tripping over tree roots here....but rabbit holes are another matter…  
_    Though he doesn’t believe he could have been running for more than ten minutes, it is significantly darker, and he can only make out vague shapes: a fence...a barn...a hedge...the sound of footsteps breaking the silence. He whips around and sees a cloaked figure making for him, and hears two more from behind. He sees the figure’s arm raise, and a flash of steel suddenly flies towards him.   
   Dodging at the last second, Makoto draws his father’s sword and holds it in both hands, trying to remember his training. He runs at the goon, zig-zagging and trying to throw off its accuracy. A dagger nicks his arm, but he surges forwards and makes a swing with his sword that catches his opponent’s side. He hears no cry of pain, but knows he has made contact from feeling the sword swing into the goon’s side, cushioned by robes but probably leaving a nasty bruise. From behind, a thrown dagger thuds into the ground, a mere centimetre away from his feet. The goon he has just attacked scurries back, seeing Makoto distracted, and fires a dagger of its own that catches his thigh.  
_I think I might have made a mistake in coming here alone,_ he considers. _But I’m here now, so I have to fight!_  
He closes in on the front attacker, and strikes again, this time at their firing arm. The sword tears through fabric and the blade makes direct contact with flesh. Makoto withdraws, and guilt pangs as he sees the enemy fall backwards, clutching its injured arm- though still not making a sound.  
  Praying that he has taken one of them out (for now), he turns his attention to the two who were behind him. The third goon has caught up and attacks from the side, though with a short sword instead of a throwing knife. He takes his opportunity to parry, and hits back, blocking the blade, feeling slightly winded. As he blocks, he and the goon lean in, giving Makoto a good look at the creepy pied mask. The black side of it is obscured in shadow, but the white side stands out in the darkness. Other than a few slits for breathing, and mesh over where the attacker’s eyes should be, it is devoid of detail. Makoto grunts and breaks the block, spinning and delivering his own strike, which goes unblocked.  
“You took something from my sister!” he shouts as he lunges. “Please return it, or I’ll-”  
The second goon throws another dagger, saving him from having to come up with a suitable threat. It misses by a hair, and Makoto lunges, aiming for the throwing arm again. The flat edge of the longsword hits, but the attacker isn’t down yet. The one with the sword moves like lightning towards him. Both foes attack at once, and while dodging the throwing knife, Makoto is hit hard by the sword.  
_One more strike should do it,_ he thinks, panting from exertion. He feints, and the attacker follows his false lunge, rushing to counter a sword that is no longer present in that spot. Makoto takes the split second to move and levy another strike, but accidentally plants his foot over a rabbit hole.  
“Heck!” he curses, feeling his foot plunge into emptiness. Unsteadied, he trips and claws desperately for a hold. The sword-wielding attacker whips around and tries to deliver another blow to the compromised noble, but Makoto’s grabbing hands latch onto their robes, causing them to fall heavily on top of him. Makoto cries out in panic as his enemy topples, and lashes out with his fists. A flailing gauntlet clonks against his attacker’s head, and puts them out of commission surprisingly easily.  
  Taking a moment too long to get up and find his feet, he is struck in the side by another thrown blade from the last attacker standing, cutting deeper into his skin than before. The wound sears, and he can feel warm blood dribbling from the gash. He checks himself for a moment and then hurls himself at the figure, using one last burst of energy to tackle the person to the ground, and try his newfound tactic of punching the enemy unconscious again. It seems to work well enough.  
_Better than murdering somebody, even if they are an attacker,_ he reasons, though still feeling a tad guilty. Kneeling over the body, he spots a small pouch tied to the belt, and picks it up. It’s black and made of coarse material, but has a strange symbol on the front: a pale grey spiral under a spiky red shape, almost like a curved gash. He slips it open and looks inside. A smooth black stone stares back at him with a dull shine- the charm from his mother’s necklace. He sighs, relieved, and ties the pouch to his own belt. Turning around to start travelling back, he glances at the sword-wielder’s unconscious form and sees an identical pouch tied to their waist, with the same symbol.  
_Are they part of a gang?_ He wonders. _Maybe I should report them to a Pegasus Knight station, if they’re going around and mugging travellers…_  
  Hurrying away from the bodies, he notices that the attacker whose arm he had injured has disappeared. If he is lucky, that means that the person has retreated to get first aid and will not be attacking him again, though a large part of him, perhaps misguided, hopes that he hasn’t harmed his foe too badly. I can’t see them. I’ll just have to press on and hope this isn’t an ambush. Patting the pouch with the reclaimed necklace, he takes one final look at the scene, and runs back into the woods.

 

It has been almost an hour since Makoto left, and the two women left at the carriage are getting anxious. Komaru sits inside, playing with the ruffles on her skirt, and peeping out the window every few seconds for any sign of her brother. Kirumi is outside, tending to the horses and patrolling the area with a dagger in each hand. Her wounds have been bandaged, but her clothes are still covered in small tears and stains of blood (‘ _terribly unprofessional’_ , she laments). Save for a fox flashing past and unsettling the horses (and the women), they have not seen another living creature since the bandits made off. It’s near impossible to see anything more than a metre away, even with the stars beginning to creep in above, and the only sounds Kirumi can hear are creatures of the night playing in the undergrowth.  
  A noise, though faint, suddenly catches her attention. She whips around, and prepares to pitch her blades into the bushes their assailants disappeared into, where it is coming from. As the crashing sounds grow in volume, she side-steps in front of the carriage door, to put herself in between Komaru and the source of them.  
  A shape bursts out of the bushes. Kirumi readies her strike, but Komaru’s face suddenly appears at the window and cries out, “Makoto!”  
  Sure enough, it is the young noble. His brown hair looks even wilder than usual, strung with twigs and leaves, and he is very red in the face. Kirumi drops her fighting stance and rushes over to him, spotting the rips in his own clothes.  
“Lord Makoto! You’re injured!” He stops and leans over, wheezing.  
“Just a few nicks from their blades- they’re only shallow wounds, I swear- more the fabric than the…” he takes a deep, shuddering breath.  
“The attackers? What happened to them?”  
“I knocked a couple of them unconscious and left them there...I only...I only fought three of them. I haven’t seen them since I started running back. I’m not sure if they’re following me, but I doubt it.” Kirumi glances at the bushes.  
“Please, Lord Makoto, get back into the carriage. We must start moving again as soon as possible, in case they return. I do not want to risk us getting into another fight.” She opens the carriage door, and Makoto climbs in. “Lady Komaru? If it isn’t too bold of me to ask, would you please be able to attend to your brother’s wounds? The way I showed you? I must drive the carriage.” Komaru smiles and nods, before reaching for the supply box and turning to her brother.  
  Kirumi climbs into the front, and the carriage starts moving steadily.  
“Yours,” Makoto says, untying the pouch from his belt and dropping it into his sister’s lap. She puts down the bandages she had been holding, and opens it. The necklace slips out, and she gasps.  
“Makoto- you got it back for me!?”  
“I got lucky in a fight.”  
“Oh, Makoto, I…” she looks unusually vulnerable for a moment, holding the black charm in her hands and staring at it with wet eyes. She closes her eyes and brings her hands to her chest. Makoto feels like going to hug her for a moment, before she drops her hands and looks at him sternly, brandishing a finger. “But no more running off like that! You shouldn’t be so stubborn and rely on your luck all the time! You could have been badly hurt!” She harrumphs and looks back down at the necklace. “But...thanks for getting this back for me. It means a lot. I was just...I was so worried about you! I-I mean, I knew you’d make it back, I just knew, but...oh, big brother!” She wraps her arms around him in a fierce hug.  
“Woah, Komaru-” he grunts, surprised. “Are you...crying? It’s OK, you know- I’m here, and I got the necklace back and everything…”  
“I’m not crying!” Komaru insists, pulling away from him and brushing her eyes roughly with her arm.  
“Hey, it’s OK, Komaru, you can admit it…” Makoto teases.  
“I was not crying!”

From the front, Kirumi listens to the siblings bicker and sighs. She concentrates on the near-invisible road ahead of her.  
It’s going to be a long drive to Asunaro.


	2. Chapter Two- Ferrybound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto, Komaru, and Kirumi arrive in Asunaro after a long (and eventful) travel. There, they plan to board the ferry to Kaiseidan, thinking that the trouble from the last night was long past- and not waiting just around the corner...

_**Makoto, Komaru, and Kirumi set off again on their journey to Kaiseidan. Though still shaken, they have recovered for the most part from their encounter with the strange masked assailants. They travel steadily as dusk turns to night, and night to dawn. As the day swings into early afternoon, their next destination comes into view. In order to get to Kaiseidan, they must board a ferry in the port town of Asunaro. They have not seen any sign of last night’s attackers yet, but perhaps it is still too soon to be letting their guard down…** _

“Lord Makoto? Lady Komaru?”   
In the back, Komaru grunts and shifts. Makoto looks up from his tactics volume.   
“Hello, Kirumi,” he says. “Komaru’s kind of in the middle of a nap. Is everything OK?”   
“Yes. I just wished to inform you that we will be arriving in Asunaro Town shortly.”   
“Oh, that’s great- will we be getting the ferry today?”   
“Ideally.” she shifts in her seat, and looks over her shoulder. “That is, if you feel you are all prepared?”   
He nods, and smiles at her. “It’s fine by me. And I can’t imagine Komaru complaining either.” Seeing his sister start to wriggle and sit up, he adds, teasing, “Unless she suddenly develops a fear of water.”   
“Huh? Fear of water?” She gasps and points at him accusingly. “You were telling Kirumi about that time when we were kids, weren’t you! The time we were playing in the river and that fish attacked me, and I fell over in the water, and cried for hours, and...I can’t believe you would tell Kirumi about that time!” Makoto tries to reply through laughter, dodging as his sister leans over to try and land a blow on his chest.   
“Well, I’ll have you know that I’m _not_ afraid of water!”   
“Anymore!”   
“I was never afraid of it in the first place!”   
“You came into my room every night for two weeks, complaining about having nightmares about sharks!”   
“Well, even if I did, it’s lucky that you had stopped wetting the bed by then!”   
Makoto gasps at his sister’s treachery, and prepares to retort. In the front, Kirumi sits awkwardly, uncomfortable with the personal information she is hearing. Should she interrupt, or would that be rude? Could she be accused of eavesdropping if she allows the conversation to continue? It’s not like she’s _trying_ to listen in- really, at the moment she wants nothing more than to go deaf for the next five minutes.   
“Komaru, I told you, I don’t wet the bed anymore!”   
“Oh no? Then why do your bedsheets seem to need washing more than anyone else’s?”   
“That’s-”   
“Is it a teenage boy thing?”   
The conversation must end, Kirumi decides, turning scarlet.   
“Come on, that’s unfair, it’s not like I can-”   
“We’ve arrived!” she squeaks loudly, trying to get the attention of the bickering siblings. “We’re going to get the ferry! Today! Please be ready!”   
The siblings look at their driver, who seems determined not to face them for some reason.   
“What’s happening to the carriage?” asks Komaru.   
“Two of the grooms travelled to Asunaro last week to celebrate a relative’s birthday. They agreed to return to Dusk Town today, and drive the carriage back. In the meantime, I need to arrange for our luggage to be moved onto the ferry.”   
“Do you need our help?” Makoto asks.   
“No, I shouldn’t think so. The dock workers will help take care of it. Besides, this is a job for maids.”   
“Then can Makoto and me explore the town?” Komaru chimes in. “I hear the local cuisine here is to die for!” She senses Kirumi’s hesitation, and adds, “Makoto can protect me. He did fine work yesterday, fighting off those bandits.”   
Makoto suddenly remembers the strange pouch. “That reminds me, Kirumi- yesterday, I-”   
“So can we go?” Komaru says, cutting her brother off.   
Kirumi scrutinises Makoto. “I’ll be OK,” he tells her. “I can take my father’s sword with me. I’ll look after Komaru, I swear.”   
“I suppose it would be preferable to the two of you, rather than having to wait for your luggage to be dealt with. We’ll buy tickets and check the times, and then you two can explore. Would you find that acceptable?”   
“Of course.” Makoto smiles.

They travel further into the town and buy tickets for an evening ferry. Komaru jumps out of the carriage ungracefully, and smooths down her skirts after landing. She turns to her brother, who steps out after her.   
“Ready to hit the town?” she asks.   
“I guess,” he replies, securing a scabbard to his swordbelt. “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”   
Komaru giggles, and glances at a pre-occupied Kirumi. She leans in and whispers to him. “Nope! But that’s what makes it so exciting!”

They say goodbye to Kirumi, and run off towards the marketplace. The simply dressed townsfolk (and especially the vendors) eye Komaru in her lavish pink dress with much interest. The air is thick with the smells of sardines and saltwater, and new sights and sounds leap out at Makoto at every turn.   
“Fiish! Fiiiiiiish! Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish! Get’cher fish here todaaaay! Freshly caught, freshly killed!” A sweaty-looking fishmonger leaning past grim hooks of hanging dead fish, smiling cheerily into the crowd.   
“Come buy the gods’ statues! Animals, plants, insects, people! They bring luck and joy! Love and safety!” A mat on the floor lined with little statues made from carved wood and stone, cut into abstract shapes, attended by a cheery girl in yellow.   
“Clothes dyeing services! You bring the clothes, we bring the colour!”   
“Bread, fresh made this morning!”   
“Seawater, going cheap! Get your seawater!”   
“Spun wool, finest in town!”   
“Carrots! Get your carrots!”   
“Cakes! Get your cakes!”   
“HEY, LORD NAEGI!”   
The sound of his family name being hollered across a busy marketplace (in another town, no less) immediately gets Makoto’s attention. He stops for a moment to listen, but all he can hear is a grouchy old woman cursing him under her breath for stopping ‘in the middle of the street’ as she jostles past him.   
“LORD NAEGI! HEY! OVER HERE!”   
He taps a distracted Komaru on the shoulder, and points in the direction he is about to go in. She nods, and then shoos him off so that she can finish paying for a...Makoto sees something lacy and quickly walks the other way.   
“LORD NAEGI! WHAT A SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE! COME TRY OUR CHEESES!”   
He finally finds the person calling him, a large, bearded man attending a cheese stall.   
“Hello, good sir.” Makoto greets the man.   
“No need to be so formal, Lord Naegi! Just call me anything! Call me Dave! I’m from Dusk Village too!”   
“Well, you can call me Makoto, then.”   
“Gee, really!? What an honour, Mr Makoto! I have to say I never thought I’d ever see you in a place like this!’   
“Komaru and I are travelling somewhere. We need to catch the ferry. So, what brings you here from Dusk Village?”   
The man grins broadly and gestures to his stall. “I’m a dairy farmer, I am. My wife and son are tending the farm while I sell our cheese. You have to try some, Mr Makoto, it’s really great!” He cuts a chunk from a pale specimen speckled with green herbs, and hands it to him.   
“Thank you, Dave.” Biting down, the soft body of the cheese gives way as his teeth come down on it. The taste is, as Dave promised, ‘really great’.   
“Your father really helped my mam out of a rough patch, you know,” Dave tells him as he eats. “A pack of plains wolves came down from the hills and slaughtered half of our herd. Mayor was going to kick us out when we stopped making enough money to pay rent, but your father gave us enough money to keep us going until calving season. Even helped the town watchmen guard our fields for weeks after the attack. How’s that cheese, by the way?”   
“I can taste the herbs in it,” Makoto says, dabbing his mouth with the cuff of his shirt. “They really give it an extra kick.”   
“They do, don’t they!” Dave beams. He cuts a sizable chunk out and produces a small white cloth, wrapping the chunk in it. “Take this, Mr Makoto, it’s on the house.” He extends his arm with vigour, offering it to him.   
“Oh no, I couldn’t…” Makoto says, though his brain is telling him to say otherwise.   
“Really! I insist! Share it with Lady Naegi!”   
“Oh, Komaru? Yeah, I guess she’d like it...Kirumi too…”   
“Kirumi? She’s with you?”   
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Makoto says. “She’s Komaru’s maid, and our chauffeur. She’s the one who’s driven us all the way from Dusk Village.”   
“Well, blow me down with a chicken feather! Little Kirumi’s all growed up! Her mother used to come down to the farm every week to buy cheese, and Kirumi used to always be peeking around her ma’s legs. Such a sweet little girl, very polite.”   
“Kirumi’s great,” Makoto agrees wholeheartedly. “Kind, helpful- Komaru’s really taken a shine to her, and it’s not hard to see why.”   
Dave quickly cuts and wraps another chunk of cheese. He presses both parcels into Makoto’s hands.   
“Give that one to Kirumi, tell her old Dairy Dave sends her his regards.”   
“Will do!” Makoto promises, slipping them into a brown pouch on his waist.   
“Makoto, Makoto! Come look at this!” His sister’s voice inexplicably cuts across the buzz of the crowd of marketgoers, even from the other side of the square. Makoto and Dave turn their heads in the direction of the sound. Makoto smiles apologetically, and sticks his hand out for Dave to shake.  
“Sorry, my sister is calling me. It was really nice meeting you, Dave, and thank you for the cheese! I’ll be sure to tell Kirumi we saw you today.” Dave takes his hand and beams.   
“Not a problem, Mr Makoto. You go have a nice day now, it was real swell meeting you!” He waves as the boy runs off, gait lopsided from the weight of the sword on his hip.   
“GETCHER CHEESE, GETCHER CHEESE! NICE AND FRESH! APPROVED OF BY DUSK VILLAGE’S OWN LORD MAKOTO HIMSELF!”

Makoto locates his sister near the entrance of the market, kneeling to admire a woven mat covered in little trinkets.   
“Look at this one!” Komaru squeals, pointing at a lump of abstractly carved wood. He kneels to look at it.   
“It certainly looks very cute.” he says. Then, “What is it?”   
The woman running the stall looks up and smiles at him, strands of hair from her white bunches flowing in a light breeze. “It’s Jampee! The god of dreams and the night!”   
“He’s very cute, for a god.”   
“Yes! He’s a hamster!”   
“Don’t you worship Kamukura?” Komaru asks.   
The girl shakes her head. “Nope! Angie’s mammi and pappi came from a faraway island! They taught her the names of the island gods, and how to make effigies of them in the traditional way, from wood and stone! Want to buy one? They bring good things! Luck, love, joy, safety!”   
“Statues that bring love!?” gasps Komaru. She turns to her brother. “Makoto, we have to buy some!”   
“We?”   
“One each! You know you could use some help in your love life!”   
“Hey, if you’re buying one, then does that mean that you need help too?”   
Komaru shoves him, and begins loosening the strings of her coin pouch.   
“Is that stone one a bird? It’s so pretty!”   
“Yes! Blessed by Champee, it brings fertility!”   
Makoto shoots his sister a disapproving look. “Do you really need something to, uh...bring you fertility, Komaru?”   
Komaru gives him a glare in return. “Hey! It’s my money, I should get to pick out what I want!” Makoto backs off, and looks at the array of statues. They resemble little plants and animals, ornately carved and painted brightly. The salesgirl, ‘Angie’, points out one of them, a wooden kitten with stubby legs.   
“This one! It brings you love and joy! Do you want it?”   
Makoto’s brain stalls, too polite to come up with a refusal. “Sure!”   
The transaction is made. Looking satisfied, the girl leans back and stretches. Part of her yellow overcoat slips off her shoulder, revealing a blue spiral pattern crawling up her arm. She fixes it nonchalantly, and smiles broadly at them.   
“May the gods bless you for your generosity! Now Angie is even closer to her dream!”   
“Your dream?” Komaru asks, carefully wrapping her bird inside a pair of stockings she has produced from one of the bags.   
“Yep-yep!” Angie spreads her hands out above her head in an arc. “Angie wishes to travel back to the island her parents came from to live! But Angie cannot afford a ferry ticket! Boo! Rent is so expensive here!”   
“Wow! What a wonderful dream!” She reaches down again for her coin pouch, and Makoto can feel his hand slipping towards his own. They each hand her a couple of gold coins. Angie looks overjoyed, and eagerly takes the money.   
“I hope you get to the island soon!” Komaru well-wishes, standing up and taking her bags.   
“Yes! Angie knows she will! Because the gods will look out for her and send more generous people like you! Goodbye, and the gods bless you! Thank you very much!” Makoto and Komaru wave back to her, as they head back towards the docks. Makoto suddenly finds his arms filled with his sister’s purchases.   
“Thanks, Makoto!” she giggles.   
“Hey! This is your stuff! Why do I have to carry all of it?”   
Komaru faces him, clutching a couple of light-looking backs to her chest. “You’re not holding _all_ of it! See, I’m holding stuff too!”   
“Komaru, my arms are full, I can’t-” He is cut off by a small figure suddenly darting in between them, interrupting their conversation. Before he can even comprehend what has happened, the figure is a good few metres ahead of him, and getting further away. Komaru shrieks, and stares at her waist. Makoto gets a bad feeling, and looks down at his belt.   
Their coin pouches are gone.   
“Makotooo! Get him!”   
“Wait, your shopping!” Komaru snatches half of it, and Makoto shoves the rest of it into her arms. A few of the townsfolk have started to stare.   
“Quick, he’s getting away! Go, Makoto, go!”   
Makoto gives chase, but the thief is lightning-quick. Given the amazing speed of the thief and the considerable headstart, the ground between them grows wider by second. Nevertheless, he makes a valiant effort to catch up.   
Frustratingly, matters are made worse as crowds part and reform quickly, allowing the thief to slip through the townspeople but forcing Makoto to slow down and (apologetically) shove past. Granted, the thief is running in an almost demonically determined way; Makoto wouldn’t blame the people for getting out of their way.   
“Sorry...sorry...excuse me!” he gasps, trying to weave his way through yet another cluster of disgruntled, most uncooperative townsfolk, who have come out of nowhere to stop in the middle of the street for no real reason. He bursts out the other side, stumbling when his foot catches in a trailing skirt, which is yanked up furiously by its owner. He is caught off-balance, and stumbles heavily onto the cobblestone beneath him. The people around him look down and titter for a moment, before returning to their own business.   
From his uncomfortable position on the ground, flat on his stomach, he raises his head and feels a trickle of warm liquid running from his nose, which curves over his top lip and enters his mouth with an unwelcome metallic taste. He raises his head woozily. He can just about make out the back of the thief’s head about to turn a corner, and disappear from view...drat. Bringing himself to stand on shaky legs, he tries to break back into a run, even a jog or a brisk limp. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for- the thief to suddenly trip? Get tired and slow down? Have a change of heart, stop and turn, and bring the money back? Surely the recovery of their coin pouches couldn’t be a lost cause, right?   
Almost as a reward for his optimism, a second figure- wearing shorts and a vest with wide blue stripes- suddenly rounds the corner, colliding heavily with the pickpocket. The thief is knocked down onto their back, and Makoto sees his chance. He limps hurriedly over before they have a chance to get back on their feet and escape- though it seems unlikely that the thief will be getting away anytime soon…  
“Yuta?” the mysterious saviour says in surprise, looking down. “What are you doing here? I thought you were collecting shells on the beach!”   
“Sis! What are _you_ doing here?” The thief says, getting up promptly. He glances behind himself nervously (and sees a very determined lord hobbling over), takes the woman’s hand, and tries to drag her away from the scene. “Uh, never mind that, I got hungry, can we go home?”   
“Hey, you wait a minute! I need to buy ingredients first!”   
“Then I’ll go wait for you at home!” He stutters, trying to run off. He lets go of his sister’s hand and tries to make a break for it, but the woman’s own arm snaps out and catches him by the wrist.   
“ _Ouch_! Sis, what’s the matter!?”   
“You’re acting pretty weirdly, Yuta!” declares the woman. She points at Makoto. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with that nice gentleman there storming over, would it? Yuta, have you been stealing again?”   
“What? That’s ridiculous. Besides, he’s hardly storming…” (Quite true.)   
The woman, still clutching her brother’s wrist, marches him over to Makoto. The little thief, ‘Yuta’, looks up sullenly at him.   
“OK, little brother, don’t try and pull a fast one on me! Return what you stole!” The boy grumbles, and pulls out Makoto and Komaru’s coin pouches. The sister snatches them off him, and sticks out her fist for Makoto to take from. He takes the bags delicately.   
“Uh...thanks, Miss…?”   
“Aoi, sir. And legs-for-brains here is called Yuta. He’s very sorry.” She glares at him fiercely. “Isn’t he?”   
Yuta nods shyly, not quite meeting Makoto’s eyes. The lord can hear his sister jogging up behind him, quite out of breath.   
“Makoto...did you...did you catch the thief?”   
“Um, yeah, it’s all being taken care of. Thanks, Miss Aoi.”   
“Just Aoi.” She sticks out her hand again, this time for him to shake.   
“We’re sorry to have caused you trouble.”   
“Ha! You causing us trouble! It’s my brother who pinched your pockets! And he stole from your sister too? Yuta! Apologise to the nice lady!”   
“...m’sorry.”   
“Now that’s over with, I guess we’ll have to be-”   
“But you don’t get it, sis!” Yuta cuts her off angrily. “These folks are hella rich! That lady there was just floozyin’ about the market, buyin’ everythin’ she could get her hands on! They were usin’ their money to buy fancy clothes and trinkets, we could have used it to pay the rent and put another _month’s_ worth of food on the table!”   
“Hey now, that’s a no-good way to talk about people, especially right in front of them! Apologise again!”   
“No sis!” Yuta tears his arm away from her. “You don’t get it! They’re rich, we’re not! They have money to burn, we don’t!”   
“So what, you’re gonna bust your balls over them supportin’ the local economy? Get real, Yuta! They may have a few more coins clinkin' than the rest of us, but that doesn’t mean you get to steal them! You don’t like it when people steal from us, do ya?”   
“But we _need_ that money, to survive! You tryin’ ta tell me that these folks munch on fancy cloth for dinner and pay the rent in silvery trinkets? _You’re_ the one who needs to get real, sis!”   
Aoi opens her mouth to retort. Yuta shakes his head furiously, and makes a sound of frustration. “Agrh! I’m not wastin’ my time on this lobster-load! I’m leavin’!” He pivots and takes off running again.   
“Damn it! Yuta, you get back here!” Aoi hollers. She sighs. “Idiot...I’m, um, sorry you folks had to see a family argument…” she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “While it’s true we’re pretty poor, that doesn’t mean I condone stealing…”   
“Well...sure, stealing’s pretty bad, but your brother did have a point.” Komaru looks at her heavy coin pouch and bites her lip. “We don’t really need all this money, at least, not as much as you and Yuta do.”   
Makoto nods, and smiles at the woman earnestly. “You said you were coming to the market to shop for food, right? Why don’t you let us help you out with that?”   
Aoi takes a step back, looking flustered. “N-no! I couldn’t! I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was begging for help or complaining or anything!” She scratches her cheek. “It wouldn’t be right for me to just take your money…”   
“It’s fine if you don’t want to, but we don’t mind helping you at all. Think of it as helping Yuta out, too.” Aoi looks at Makoto nervously.   
“...Alright.” She says. “For Yuta. But there’s just one condition!” She straightens and points a stern finger at the siblings. “I’m going to cook something up for you two as well! It’s the least that I can do!” 

After checking how much time they have before their ferry departs (plenty), the three set off around the market again. Makoto and Komaru introduce themselves to the woman properly. Aoi takes on much of Komaru’s luggage, using only a simple burlap bag to transport her own groceries. The woman is short but strong, with a toned and curvy body, and tan skin. Her brown ponytail bounces on top of her head as she walks, pointing out different market stalls. The burlap sack is bulging with fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, meat and cheese (they returned to Dairy Dave’s cheese stall. He gave them even more free cheese.)   
“Wha-!? Lord and Lady of Dusk Village!?” Aoi gasps. “No way! No wonder you two are so loaded! Just a question though...you guys said you were brother and sister, right? I’m not wrong, right? You’re not actually married or something, right?”   
Their final stop is an indoor bakery, a little away from the marketplace.   
“Do we need to get bread?” Komaru asks, inhaling as she steps through the door.   
“Well, yeah, we do need bread- but actually, this is where I live!”   
“In a bakery?” Komaru’s hands fly to her mouth. She looks around the place. “Do people actually live in bakeries? Do you sleep in the kitchen or something!?”   
Aoi laughs quietly, and nods her head at a portly woman standing behind the till in greeting. “No, there’s a spare room upstairs that Yuta and I share. Komaru, Makoto, this is Mrs Yoshida, the baker. Treat her nicely!”   
“Don’t you be raising havoc upstairs, ya hear!?” The woman says, by way of greeting, glaring at Makoto and Komaru from around Aoi. “Suppose you’ll be wanting some bread for your meal, little snapper? I’ll have some fresh out the oven for ya by the time I’ve finished cooking. Oh, and Aoi, honey, take some pastries for you and your little friends, ‘kay?” The woman’s voice turns syrupy when she speaks to Aoi. As Mrs Yoshida turns around, Makoto catches her eye, and nearly dies of fright.   
“Sure thing! Thanks, Ma’am! Oh, and I bought you those herbs you wanted!” Aoi calls. She carefully puts the sack down, plucks several pastries from the table at the front, and spins to face the siblings.   
“Come on, let’s go to my room!” She races up a flight of stairs at the back of the shop. Komaru and Makoto look at each other, shrug, and follow.

Aoi and Yuta’s room is small. A messily made bed sits next to the window, with a patchy-looking toy otter sat on the pillow. On the other side of the room, by a small balcony draped in washing, is a larger futon. A rug woven with thick fibres and straw covers shabby floorboards. Two wicker chairs that have seen better days take up most of the rest of the room, one holding a worn and dog-eared copy of ‘The Way of the Fisherman’. A medium-sized axe hangs on one of the walls at eye-level.   
“Take a seat!” Aoi says happily, flopping down on the futon. Makoto delicately picks up the book on his chair before sitting down, and passes it to Aoi. As he holds it, he notices her intense and wary gaze following his every move. Once it is in her hands, she brushes her fingers along the cover delicately with small, but warm smile. Then she looks back up at her two guests, and fixes a broader smile on her face.   
“So! I guess we’ll just have to wait for Mrs Yoshida to finish cooking. What brings you two to Asunaro Town then?”   
“We’re here with our friend, Kirumi.” Komaru tells her. “We’re travelling to Kaiseidan for a meeting of nobles. We don’t know what it’s about yet, it’s all very hush-hush, but I bet it’ll be fun!”   
“Dusk Village to Kaiseidan? That’s a long journey. You two are so lucky to be going to the capital. I’ve never really been anywhere outside of Asunaro Town.”   
“You should come to Dusk Village one day!” says Komaru. “We have a market too!”   
“I’ve been to the outskirts, once. Our father went to an orchard every couple of weeks, to pick up bushels of apples for the market, on behalf of one of the local grocers. He took me once, when our mother was busy with Yuta when he was a baby.” She pauses. “I think I’d like to go again, but it’d be difficult. It’s not like I can afford to take time off work to make the journey there and back, never mind to stay and have fun. I need to earn as much as I can, you know? For Yuta, and for Mrs Yoshida.”   
Makoto is quiet for a moment, considering whether or not it would be appropriate to ask Aoi something. Komaru asks for him, evidently thinking the same thing.   
“Aoi…” she starts. “If you don’t mind my asking...where are your parents?”   
Aoi smiles sadly and starts playing with the pages of the book. “Our mother went to visit her sick brother in Novoselic, where he was doing military service. From what got back to us, at the time she was in the country there was a kidnap attempt on their princess, so all foreigners were forbidden from leaving the country until the investigation was solved. That was nearly seven years ago. Then King Grohl got involved in a war with...some other country on the next continent, I forget the name...and just never got around to closing the investigation and freeing the people who got trapped there. But Supreme Lord Jin doesn’t want to risk a war with such a military power.” Her voice, while morose, has a lilt to it that suggests that she has grown used to the situation, come to accept it.   
“...and your father?”   
“Died at sea. We were always poor, so he had to take on so many different jobs to support us, but he could never keep one job for more than a few months- never his fault, just...bad luck, I suppose. And things only got worse when Mother went away, since she used to earn money working downstairs for Mrs Yoshida. He had to take on even more work. See that axe, up there? He bought me it when I was nine, if I ever needed to protect myself while he was away.” She sighs heavily. “His last ever job was as a crew member on a fishing boat. His boat was attacked by a gang of delinquents who had stolen a small passenger vessel, a few miles from shore, in the early hours of morning. One of the crew members told me that one of the attackers got knocked into the sea by one of his so-called friends, and started drowning. My father went overboard to try and help, and the idiot he was trying to save knocked him unconscious. They both drowned.”   
A solemn silence floods the room. Makoto isn’t sure how to comfort her (she doesn’t seem distressed- more resigned?), or if he even should.   
“Do you two still have your parents?” Aoi asks, in a casual enough tone, though she is staring at the mat.   
“Ah, well, no…” Makoto answers. Komaru’s shoulders shrink inward, and she looks much smaller in the chair.   
“When we were little, they went to an evening ball a few towns over. They didn’t return.” Komaru adds. “Three days later, one of our servants came back from the town and told us that the ball had been raided by unknown attackers. They had slaughtered almost everyone there, but nothing had been stolen from any of the bodies. Except…” She touches her throat. Makoto can see her hands trembling, as well as the black stone on her necklace, which shudders against her chest. “Our mother’s necklace was taken from...from her body. The only theft that took place. But it was found discarded in some bushes a few days later. I don’t get why- it was a valuable necklace, with lots of jewels…” Komaru gestures to the black cord around her throat. “This is another of her necklaces, you know? But it would have been worthless to thieves. I mean, this one I can see a thief throwing in a bush, but...it was all so weird, and upsetting. I didn’t care about the necklace at the time, it wasn’t some stupid necklace I wanted back...that just made it even worse though. It wasn’t even as if my parents had died after a mugging attempt turned violent.” Her hands have migrated to her lap, and started to tremble more violently. “Our parents lost their lives for no reason! A-and years later, I can accept that they’re dead, alright, but it’s this business with the necklace I don’t understand!”   
Komaru’s voice has raised in volume, and as she suddenly breaks off, the absence of it makes the room seem quieter than ever.   
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “What happened to your parents really sucks. I mean, really, really sucks. I didn’t mean to go on about my own parents…”   
“Hey, it’s fine.” Aoi smiles weakly. “I totally get why you would get so upset talking about them. It’s good to talk sometimes, you know?” She leans over, and grabs some of the pastries she picked up from downstairs.   
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever tried these before?” She holds two of them out, trying to diffuse the heavy mood. The bread is soft and round, with a large hole in the middle, and dusted with sugar. “They’re sweet bagels. Makoto takes a bite out of one. It’s wonderfully soft and sweet- as he gets further in, the taste of strawberry jam fills his mouth.   
“These are great, Aoi,” he says happily, if subdued. Thinking about his parents. He takes another bite. “Really great.”   
“Yeah, Mrs Yoshida makes the best sweet bagels in town! They’re my favourite food, I can’t get enough of them.”   
Komaru, still trembling, takes little nibbles at first, but then begins to take larger and faster bites, eventually wolfing the pastry down.   
“H-hey, Aoi? That was...that was delicious!” she beams, cheering up. Makoto is relieved, though he makes a mental reminder to check on his sister later.   
Aoi, grinning, opens her mouth to say something else, but stops when she hears voices from downstairs.   
“Oh, Yuta, there you are!” Mrs Yoshida says, her voice muffled.   
“Hey, Mrs Yoshida, sorry I’m late.”   
“You’re just in time in fact, dinner’s ready. Your sister is already upstairs with her new friends, won’t you take this tray up? Saves me from putting my back out.”   
“Yes, ma’am.”   
Footsteps clonk up the stairs, then stop at the landing. Aoi opens the door for his brother. He stands in the doorway, clutching a tray with four bowls of broth, with bread rolls dipped in. He is sniffling slightly. Aoi takes the tray from him and passes the bowls out.   
“Thanks.” Makoto mutters, unsure what to say again. Holding his own bowl, Yuta stands in the middle of the room, facing his bed but head turned towards Komaru and Makoto. He looks around awkwardly for a moment.   
“I’m sorry.” he says simply, but sincerely. He trudges over to his bed, and sits down heavily. The broth wobbles in the crock. One of Yuta’s hands sneaks towards the ragged otter toy, but then withdraws, perhaps considering the company.   
For a few minutes, they eat in silence. Then Aoi catches Yuta’s eye, and she says something unintelligible under her breath. Yuta chuckles quietly, then says something back, making Aoi giggle. This continues back and forth for another few minutes, getting louder and louder each time.   
“-lousy old crayfish.” Makoto is able to catch Yuta saying, causing Aoi to laugh loudly.   
“Seal bait.”   
Komaru and Makoto look at each other, and start chuckling themselves. Makoto has to puff his cheeks and put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from accidently spitting out the (delicious) broth.   
Siblings; they may argue, but never for long.   
The mood considerably lighter by the impromptu, if slightly bizarre sibling-banter session, they contentedly finish their meals. Spoons clank loudly against the bottoms of the dishes as the broth is drained away enthusiastically. The group pat their stomachs and groan and stretch and wipe their mouths.   
“Pretty good, hey? Mrs Yoshida, the best chef in town.” Aoi says happily, dragging her forearm across her mouth.   
“Was that typical Asunaro food? I definitely want to try some again!” Komaru puts her plate on her lap and leans back, stretching her arms.   
“Hey, Yuta, Makoto and Komaru helped pay for that meal! What do you say?”   
“Thank you, Mr Makoto, thank you, Miss Komaru. And...sorry. Really.”   
“All forgiven.” Makoto waves his hand. “But, where did you learn to run like that? You were like a-”   
A voice downstairs cuts him off. Loud. Urgent. Familiar.   
“Are you Mrs Yoshida?”   
“That I am, young lady, and where do you think you come off, barging in here in such a state?”   
“Forgive my rudeness, but I am in desperate need to see my young masters, Lord Makoto Naegi, and Lady Komaru Naegi, have you seen them? Dave said he saw them go off with a young woman, and pointed me here.”   
“Well, two fancy-dressed kids came in with my Aoi just a short while ago, I suppose it’s them you speak of?”   
“It must be, where are they?”   
Makoto and Komaru stand and scramble to the door, then down the stairs, carrying their bowls. In the shop stands a concerned-looking Kirumi, and leaning against a doorframe with his arms crossed, Dairy Dave.   
“Oh, thank goodness you’re both here!”   
“Kirumi?”   
“Have we missed the ferry?”   
“We’re so sorry!”   
“We thought we had enough time!”   
Kirumi’s face is pale.   
“Worse,” she says gravely. “Last night’s assailants- they’re back.”

The group run through the streets of Asunaro. Aoi and Yuta navigate at the front, quickly reaching high speeds and leaving the rest of them in the dust, then having to stop and look back for the others.   
“This way, this way’s quickest!”   
Komaru and Kirumi come in the middle, the maid holding her liege’s hand and helping the woman run, an arduous task for the young noble due to her voluminous skirts and flimsy shoes.   
“Ah, I can’t keep up!”   
At the back, Makoto runs, one hand constantly reaching down to reassure himself that his sword is still in his scabbard, if worst comes to worst. He keeps checking over his shoulder, slowing him down considerably, on the lookout for any pursuers. So far, they have been lucky, and there have been none. If worst comes to worst and they are attacked, then Makoto has his sword, Kirumi her daggers, and Aoi, the huge axe on the wall, now strapped to her back and barely slowing her down.   
They round a corner.   
“We’ll be there soon!” Yuta shouts. “Catch your ferry and get out of here!”   
The docks are in sight. Makoto can make out their carriage in the street, being staked out by two robed figures, while a third stands watch over two men cowering on the floor.   
“The grooms!” Kirumi gasps.   
“Keep running! Yuta, let’s go by the post office way!”   
“You got it!”   
They come out of the alley they have been running down, and flash past a post office. Passerbys watch them go, scratching their heads in confusion.   
Further behind them, the marketplace is in shambles. The assailants had swept through, looking for the noble siblings, and caused a panic. An impassable crush had formed down the road in the middle, formed of people who had tried to escape the assailants’ terror in the quickest way, only to be barricaded in by knife-brandishing goons.   
“We’ll get to the docks, where we have an escape route- then, we can draw their attention to us as we get on the boat, so they’ll leave the townspeople alone!” Makoto had proposed, strategizing on the spot.   
“Lord Makoto, forgive my impudence-”   
“Spit it out, lady!” Yuta had yelled from the front.   
“It’s a massive risk! What if they catch you?”   
“I don’t know!” Makoto admitted. “But it’s better than letting them terrorise innocent folk!”

They turn into another alley. Something purple catches his eye. Makoto twists his head to look behind him, and sees a very determined person on the chase, purple robes flapping behind them.   
“We’ve got one tailing us!” he hollers to the front. He slows down as he reaches for his sword, and can sense his pursuer catching up. Blue stripes and a red cowl flash past him- Aoi’s clothing. Axe drawn, she intercepts the pursuer and sends the butt of her axe slamming into the side of their head. The person is bowled over, and crashes into a wall.   
“Keep running, keep running!” she shouts, catching up easily.

They reach the docks. Aoi springs back to the front, and yanks Yuta behind a wall of crates, beckoning for the others to follow. The group crouch down behind their makeshift cover, wheezing.   
Aoi peers through a small gap in their cover.   
“There are five of them,” she hisses. “Three over here, two over there.” She gestures. “And your ferry is in the harbour. All got your tickets?”   
“Yes.” three voices say in unison.   
“The ferry’s about to head off. The captain don’t wanna stick around here neither.” Yuta observes.   
“Yuta- we’ll distract them. When their backs are turned, you run and tell the captain what the situation is. Tell him to wait a few more minutes. Got it?”   
Her brother nods resolutely.   
“I don’t think we’ll be able to cope with five on one. We’ll have to split them up somehow.” She looks back through the gap. “Makoto and I will take the three on this side. We’ll climb over those crates and drop down on the other side. At the same time, I need Kirumi and Komaru to run out this side, where there are only two of them, and distract those two. All understand?”   
They do.   
Aoi gives Makoto a leg up on top of the crates, and he helps pull her up. They haven’t been spotted ye- one of the masked figures, the one in the group of two, turns their head at exactly the wrong time. Makoto looks at his sister, wide-eyed, trying to convey a message. The person walks backwards to their partner, keeping an eye on the frozen Makoto at all costs, and goes to tap their partner on the shoulder.   
Komaru screams and bolts.   
It’s not an act of cowardice- it’s strategy. Komaru’s scream is a warcry- a distraction. She rushes out, skirts trailing behind her, followed by Kirumi. The attention is taken off Makoto, and now Komaru and Kirumi are their sole focus.   
“Makoto! Now!” Aoi shouts, all but pushing him off. The group of three are alerted to them, and rush forwards.   
Aoi meets the attackers first, and lugs her axe at the one leading them with ferocity. Contact is made, but it only dents plate armour hidden underneath the robes. The goon draws his sword and makes an overhead attack that misses Aoi by a hair, the woman rolling to dodge it.   
The other two begin to round on Aoi. Makoto focuses his attentions on the second swordsman, and swings. He also makes contact, and slices a gash into the left arm. His foe’s head turns, and the dark right side of their mask faces him. He tries not to falter as a counter-attack is made, which he blocks at the last second, but not without feeling the force behind their blow in his arms.   
Next to him, Aoi shrieks, and Makoto rushes to her aid. The third attacker, it would appear, is a magic user. Their robes flare out behind them dramatically as they hold a tome, making a sweeping gesture towards Aoi with their arm. A cruel slice of artificial wind cuts through. By the invisible force, a wound opens on her shoulder.   
Makoto covers for Aoi, trying to allow her to get her breath back without being attacked. He faces the axe wielder and strikes with his sword, while his opponent goes for another overhead- this time aimed at him. However, Makoto’s blade knocks into their armoured torso and catches them off balance. His foe does not recover in time to block Makoto’s next attack, a stab that cuts into the plate armour but gets cut off by the chainmail underneath. Makoto is somewhat glad that he has not caused a grievous wound (or obtained one).   
Kirumi is faring well against her opponents. She and Komaru run straight ahead, towards the ship, pursued by the attackers. Before they can get to close, Kirumi fires off a dagger that hits the closest one dead-on in the chest. They were not well-armoured, and the dagger cuts deep. She laments that she will probably not have enough time to retrieve it, but hopes that it will keep one of them at bay for even a moment.   
The second figure wields a red tome. Kirumi pushes Komaru behind her, preparing to take the brunt of the attack. Harsh smoke pours from the book towards her, and manifests into a small explosion that hits her hard in the chest. She wheezes heavily, gasping for breath. Her eyes and nostrils sting from the smoke, her chest aches from the impact.   
“Kirumi!” Komaru cries in horror.   
The maid stands up straight, and readies another dagger.  
“This might get messy,” she warns her liege. Looking furiously into the masked face, where the eyes should be, she draws back her arm and lets fly.   
“ _You’re just a stain_!” she snarls.   
The blade strikes true, right in the assailant’s throat. The sight...isn’t pretty, but, it was what she deemed necessary to protect Komaru.   
“Hey, lady!” She pivots on her foot. Yuta is bolting towards her, making a break for the ship. He crosses right past the first goon Kirumi took down- or so she thought she had. The robed figure staggers to their feet and draws their sword, lifting their arms Yuta comes into range.   
“Komaru, Yuta, duck!” They duck, Yuta still sprinting for the ship with his back horizontal and his head down. Kirumi whips another dagger at her opponent.   
“Rest in pieces!”   
The dagger pierces them to the right of their chest, not quite killing them, but certainly putting them out of action for a while. Yuta has sped ahead, and is almost at the jetty. He races up the steps, and bowls over a crew member guarding the entrance.   
_At least the message will get through,_ Kirumi thinks to herself. She takes Komaru’s hand and continues to drag her towards the boat, though both are exhausted by this point. _Just a little more!_

The axe-wielder is down, knocked out cold by Makoto’s gauntlet while winding up to strike again. That leaves the swordfighter and the magic user. Makoto searches his brain desperately for a new tactic, but it feels like he is swimming through a pool of fear and adrenaline. He can see Kirumi and Komaru hurrying towards the ferry, stepping around the body of one of the masked assailants. It does not move to pick up its tome or block their passage, only falls to the side helplessly when Kirumi rips a blade from its throat.   
Though somewhat sickened by the sight, some part of him feels relieved that Komaru and Kirumi are now running to the boat unhindered. Even if the boat sets off without him, those two will be able to escape at least.   
“Aoi! Take the one with the tome!” he yells, rushing to parry the swordsman. Aoi yells something in agreement as she rushes to deal with the magic user, tackling them to the ground and knocking their book out of their hands.   
“Makoto! Hurry!” she yells. He turns his head and sees that the tome wielder has been knocked out. Aoi is standing over the body and beckoning for him to go to her. The swordfighter takes advantage of his distraction, and their blade connects with Makoto’s breastplate. Panicking, Makoto steps back rather urgently before any major damage can be done. He scrambles backwards, sword raised in a defensive position, checking behind to keep himself from stumbling. The swordfighter is closing the ground between them quickly. Aoi jumps in between at the last second as the swordfighter slashes with their weapon, and she blocks the strike with the flat of her axe.   
“Move, move!” she commands him. “Get to the boat before it sets off!”   
“It’s fine, I’ll stay and help!”   
“Your sister needs you! Go now! I can take this one on my own!”   
Makoto sees the sense in what she is saying, though he feels no better for leaving Aoi behind. He turns around and begins to sprint towards the jetty, throwing a regretful look over his shoulder. He sees the swordfighter try to dodge around Aoi in pursuit of him, but she stops them with a blow to their back from the shaft of her axe, that sends her foe to the floor. She starts to race after him. Feeling reassured, Makoto looks forwards at the ferry. He’s only a few metres from boarding. The ferry attendant notices, and shouts something at another crew member, who scampers into the crowd of passengers.   
“I have a ticket, I swear!” he says breathlessly, a little loudly, when he reaches the crew member.   
““It’s fine, your servant boy explained it all to us. Glad you could make it, Lord Naegi.” They step onto the boat. The attendant bangs a wooden gate shut, unties a few ropes.   
“Wait, wait!” Makoto says. “Are we leaving _now_? Good sir, our friend isn’t aboard yet, she’s been helping us fend off these people, you must-”   
“I’m sorry to say, but we simply must leave. Captain’s orders.”   
“No, no, she’s coming, she’s right over-”   
He points at the docks, where they have just been fighting. Aoi should have well caught up to him by now. Makoto’s heart sinks as he looks about for her, feeling the boat rock underneath him.   
_Where is she!? She should have caught up by now!_  
“Lord Naegi, my apologies. Your sister and servant are waiting inside-”   
“There! There she is!” he shouts, spotting his friend’s blue-striped shirt peeking out from behind the prow of a vessel next to the ferry. The angle of the protrusion and Makoto’s position had blocked her from sight- and also obscured a certain robed figure from view.   
Aoi is limping. On her toned calf, a painful-looking cut is weeping blood. The swordfighter had not been finished off, and continued their pursuit, injuring her leg.   
“Lord Naegi, what are you doing!?” the crew member suddenly says from next to him, alarmed. Makoto looks down- it seems he has subconsciously tried to climb over the side of the boat to get to his friend. The attendant grabs his arm and drags him down.   
“Forgive my actions, sir, but I cannot allow you to jump! You would surely come to harm!”   
“But, Aoi!” Makoto stares at her and her masked foe fighting. A wide slash from the sword. Aoi steps back. She replaces her axe on her back. A lunge that doesn’t connect, but forces her to take another step back. Her ankles are dangerously over the side of the docks, over water. The swordfighter rears, hoisting their sword above their head dramatically, and swings it down in an arc.   
Aoi falls back.   
Makoto shouts something panicked and unintelligible, reaching for her, the crew member holding him back. Her body goes underwater, backwards, headfirst.   
She is fully submerged and disappears from view.   
Then- resurfaces.   
A huge splash goes up as Aoi sticks her head back out. Frantic waves are created by her rapid arm movements, and her legs leave a wake behind her as she powers through the water. Makoto watches, feeling relieved, dumbstruck, amazed- and just a little inspired.   
The boat is moving forwards at a steady pace. Makoto can see the storm of splashes turning a corner sharply around a fishing boat, and making straight for the ferry. He smiles wide as he watches her, ditto the crew member. He spots a life-float on the side of the boat, and rushes over to it. The crew member does not stop him, and in fact follows him to retrieve it. They fiddle with the ropes tying it, and then hurl it overboard, to Aoi. She accelerates to reach it, and wraps her arms around it. As the two men aboard the ferry begin tugging at the rope connected to it, bringing it into them, she smiles and waves brightly. Makoto grins back, though his hands are occupied. In some corner of his mind, he notices that the shape of the life-float is the same as a sweet bagel.   
They continue to draw her in, closer and closer, until she’s right under their noses. Makoto leans over (held tightly by the attendant) and sticks out his arm. Aoi, now right up close, beams at him and grabs his wrist. 

He hauls her aboard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy hells this was a long one
> 
> About 'sweet bagels'...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wanted to bring in Aoi's love of doughnuts, but that didn't quite sound Medieval-fantasy enough. So now we have sweet bagels. I wonder if Komaeda would be interested? 
> 
> Aoi will be tagged as a character when I post Chapter Three! Like a Fire Emblem game, new characters will be introduced every few chapters. I wouldn't want to spoil my own story by tagging new characters as they are introduced. 
> 
> Beta readers and co-writers still wanted! Constructive criticism still welcome in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, now that clusterfuck of a first chapter is over with...if you're reading this, then thanks for taking the time to read my work! I'm currently looking for co-writers and/or beta readers to help me work out some plot points, and make this fic the best I possibly can. Constructive criticism is appreciated in the comments! 
> 
> This fic will also have some interactive elements. In the future, there will be the opportunity to vote on which characters you want to see get S!Supports with each other- i.e: which relationships become 'canon' in the story. Please follow my Twitter for updates and polls! https://twitter.com/shslcostumedes


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